Dragons
by sweetseptemberswimmer
Summary: the first task from Cedric's PoV. one shot.


**I decided to sit down and write another cedric story, and this was the result. Everything belongs to JK Rowlings, except for Gwen, Amanda, Sean, Alex, and Caity. They belong to me. Enjoy!**

_Dragons!_ I toss and turn in my bed, unable to get the thought out of my head and sleep. _The first task. Dragons! They're going to kill us all!_

Until now, I had now questioned my safety in this tournament. But dragons…. They had to be bloody crazy to think we knew enough to get past a dragon.

I shove my blankets off, and climb quietly out of bed, snatching my wand off the bedside cabinet. I can't lie here anymore. I have to get up and do something, prepare for the task, anything.

I find the common room deserted, the fire burning down to a few smoldering logs. Sinking into a chair, I bury my face in my hands. Kneading my eyes and temples, I try to think of something, anything, to save me from a dragon.

Immediately, my mind jumps to charms. But in the past five years, I haven't learned a charm to get past a dragon. Then I think of defense. But what could a shield or the like do? Stunning is out, of course, because that would never work, a dragon's hide is so thick it takes multiples stunners to bring one down. The same goes for most spells, actually….

Cursing, I get up and start pacing. What could possibly work? For a moment, I entertain the idea of wearing fireproof gear, like Muggles, and simply running around the dragon. Then I consider a dragon's height, and squash it. The dragon could step on me, and I'd be dead in a heartbeat.

I curse louder, then clamp my mouth shut. Better to not wake anybody.

I continue pacing, until I hear the door to the girls' dormitories creak open. Damn it. Too late.

I turn around, meaning to tell whoever the girl is to go back to bed. Instead, I feel my face split into a small smile as I recognize Amanda, clad in her pajamas, her red hair pulled away from her face.

"Hey," I say weakly. Of all my friends, Amanda had been the only one I'd told about the dragons. If I'd told anyone else… well. I'd have been afraid to ruin it for them. And they'd never let me live that down. But, that aside, Amanda is also incredibly smart. If anyone knew how to figure out something like this, she did. Technically, champions aren't supposed to receive help… and while, normally, I'd stick to the rules as best as possible. However, Harry had mentioned the other champions knowing as well, I could guarantee their headmasters had helped them. So I figured Amanda helping wouldn't be too bad.

Amanda gives me a curious look and walks slowly towards me, gesturing towards a chair upholstered in a pattern of black and yellow, indicating I sit down. I comply, and she perches on the arm.

"Why are you up?" I ask, curious, forgetting for one moment my own problem.

"Couldn't sleep…." Amanda's staring into the glowing embers, her eyes narrowed. The way she looks when she's deep in thought. And I know she's been up, thinking of a way to help me.

"Worried about me?" I tease, then feel my stomach tighten.

Amanda nods distantly, whispering, "I can't believe they're actually going to make you do this."

"I know."

She sits there for a while longer staring into the nearly extinguished fire, lost in thought. I begin to feel sick, sitting there wasting time.

Right as I'm about to say something to her, Amanda's eyes light up. "Transfiguration!" she whispers excitedly.

I'm baffled. "Amanda… I know Transfiguration is your best subject… but I really don't see how that helps us here."

Amanda shakes her head, positively bursting with excitement now. "No, no, no. See, what has McGonagall been trying to teach us for the last couple of classes?"

"Animal transfigurations? Mandy, she's been teaching that to us for years."

Amanda sighs, exasperated now. But I can't help it. I'm tired and I don't know what she's asking of me.

"Inanimate to animate transfigurations," she says, like it's the most obvious thing in the world.

"Okay, sure. Let's go with that." I rub my eyes again. "Mandy, please get to the point. The first task is just hours away, and I have no clue how I'm going to do this."

Amanda rolls her eyes. She was obviously trying to not spell the answer out to me, something she hates having to do. "Okay, fine. You transfigure something to distract the dragon. Then, while the dragon is chasing whatever you create, you sneak past. Ta-da."

I think her plan through, trying to find a flaw. I can't think of any, and slowly, elation rolls through me. I leap up and hug her, lifting her petite frame straight off the ground. "Mandy this is perfect! I think this will actually work!"

"Put me down, Ced!" she laughs, and for a brief moment I wonder if we've become too loud. No one bursts through the dormitory doors to investigate, however, and so I put her down quietly.

"Any ideas what would distract a dragon?" I ask.

"Uh… something… crafty. But big. Like… not a cow or a horse or something like that. that's just stupid but…" I can tell Amanda hadn't thought this far ahead in her idea. I don't mind, though, because as she's stammering, an idea pops into my head.

"A dog!"

Amanda looks surprised for a second, but recovers quickly. "It'd have to be a rather large dog… but nimble, too. Something that could dodge a dragon's fire and keep it on its toes."

I scan through the dog breeds I know in my head. "A retriever of some sort would do." I say finally. Amanda nods, agreeing. "Go get your wand, Ced. I think you should practice a bit, just so you have an idea of how this is going to work out tomorrow- er, later today."

I pick it up from the chair, where I'd left it. "Got it."

Amanda smiles slightly to herself at my preparedness. I can tell she's filling in the blanks in her head, trying to imagine me coming out here to practice some sort of terrible idea before she showed up. Now that I think about it… what _had_ I been planning to do with my wand?

Amanda and I agree on the spell that would work best, and I set about trying to transfigure a cushion into a retriever. After nearly an hour, the cushion transforms completely, a Labrador standing in its place.

It's Amanda's turn to hug me. "Good job, Ced!"

But I'm doubtful. "Amanda… there aren't going to be cushions in the arena. How is this going to work?"

I watch as Amanda's smile falls, and immediately feel bad for making her see this flaw. Then her eyes spark again, indicating she's come up with yet another idea.

"Rocks! There has to be rocks of some sort right? Whether to hide behind or just scattered on the ground! They're not going to leave you in a barren arena, because then the audience wouldn't have a show. How about this, I'll skive off Herbology. You have a free period right?" I nod, but she doesn't need verification; she already knows this. "Meet me outside the prefects' bathroom right after breakfast. We'll practice there."

"You'll risk detention from Sprout for me?"

Amanda nods. "She might understand if I explain…" Amanda shrugs, indicating she really doesn't care.

I quietly agree to meet her the next morning, and watch as she heads off to bed, seemingly content. After a minute, I head off to my own dorm, in hopes of at least a few hours sleep.

When I awake, Alex and Tyler are lagging behind, taking their time getting ready. I change into my robes and head down to breakfast with them, the entire time my stomach in such violent knots I fear I'll be sick. Amanda, and Gwen are already there, talking to an Asian girl in Ravenclaw colors. I sit down across from Amanda, my eyes never leaving the Asian girl. I fill my stomach flip nervously, and for the first time that morning I doubt it has anything to do with the task.

"Oh! Cho, this is Cedric. Ced, this is Cho Chang."

I smile. "Hi, Cho."

She smiles shyly and goes back to talking to Amanda as Gwen's sister, Caty, and her brother Sean sit join us. They too start talking to Cho.

I put a small amount of food on my plate and push it around on my plate for a few minutes. I can't eat. Anything I eat would probably come back up later. My stomach flip-flops violently and for half a second I seriously think I'm going to throw up.

Fortunately Amanda notices I'm not acting right, and she stands up immediately, her food forgotten. "C'mon Ced. Bathroom. Now."

She meets me at the end of the table and marches me towards the prefects' bathroom. I give the password, since she doesn't know it. She pulls me inside and I bolt for a bathroom stall, emptying what very little is in my stomach.

Amanda rubs my bag as I lay on the cool floor for a few minutes before pushing myself up. She settles across from me.

"I can't do this," I whisper, resting my chin on my knees.

Amanda's eyes flash. "Yes, you can. Cedric, that Goblet chose you for a reason. You're the best person from Hogwarts to compete in the tournament. You _can_ do this."

I try to believe Amanda, I really do. But my stomach tightens again at the thought of facing a dragon and I can't help but think I'm going to throw up again. I don't.

Amanda leaves after a moment, promising to be back to practice. She returns moments before our first classes are supposed to begin with several rocks of various sizes and scatters them on the bathroom floor. I set to work practicing, immersing myself in the complex magic and trying to ignore the fact that in less than two hours' time, I would be facing down a dragon…

Transfiguring the rocks doesn't turn out to be as hard as I thought it'd be. After I'd successfully transfigured all the rocks, Amanda and I sit down on the floor for a break. We sit in silence for a long time, until finally I voice a concern I can't get out of my head.

"Mandy… what am I supposed to do if I _can't_ find a rock? Like… at all?"

Amanda shrugs, thoughtful. "Well first get the hell out of the dragon's way, that'd be good… then maybe transfigure your robes or shirt? I'm sure the audience would love that," she adds with a smile.

I can't help the slight smile that touches my lips. We head back to the Great Hall for lunch. I sip on a glass of water at the Hufflepuff table as people walk up to wish me luck. My stomach doesn't appreciate the water, but I know I need _something_. All too soon, Professor Sprout comes down, and tells me we need to head out to the grounds for the task. My hands shake as I stand up, and I walk with her out of the Hall.

I follow allow behind her, running through my plan in my head. I feel restless, uneasy, my heart pounding in my chest and my palms very, very sweaty, despite the cool November air. I'm aware of Professor Sprout saying something, but I'm not sure what exactly she's saying. I know she wishes me luck when we reach a tent and explains what will happen once I'm inside, but I don't take in a word of what she says.

As u turn to duck into the tent, Professor Sprout grabs my shoulder. I look down at her, meeting her wide, kind eyes, surprised. "You'll do great, Cedric. I know you will."

With that, she lets me go into the tent and she bustles off.

Inside, I find Fleur sitting on a stool in a corner, looking, well, for her anyway, frightened. Krum just looks surly. Bagman is bouncing around in his old Wasp robes. I try to sit down, like Fleur, but I find I can't sit still. I stand up and start pacing back and forth, trying to calm myself down, to take deep breaths, to do something to calm my racing heart.

Harry enters a couple of minutes later. I look up when he does and give him a small smile. I stop pacing, waiting to see what will happen now that we are all here.

"Harry! Good-o!" Bagman exclaims, looking at Harry. "Come in, come in, make yourself at home!"

I find myself almost laughing at that. Instead, I find myself chewing on my lip nervously.

"Well, now we're all here- time to fill you all in!" Bagman says brightly. "when the audience has assembled, I'm going to be offering each of you this bag," I watch as he hold up a small purple silk bag. He then continues, saying, "from which you will each select s small model of the thing you are about to face! There are different-er- varieties, you see. And I have to tell you something else too… ah, yes… your task is to _collect the golden egg_!"

I nod once in response to Bagman's instructions, and start pacing again. I feel sicker than ever, the water I drank earlier feels traitorous in my stomach.

I notice as I pace the other champions hadn't reacted at all. Harry hadn't been lying. They did know.

Soon, much too soon, I hear people assembling in the stands, laughing, shrieking, and talking animatedly about what they were about to see. And when the flow of people sounds like it's slowing, Bagman holds out the bag with a cheery "ladies first", offering it to Fleur.

I watch as she reaches inside the bag and pulls out a tiny, precise model of a green dragon with a number two around its neck. Once again, Fleur doesn't look surprised. I feel even more certain that the other champions cheated, and grateful to Harry for telling me so I too could prepare.

Krum pulls out a red dragon with a three around its neck. He just stares at the ground in response.

Bagman offers the bag to me. I reach into the bag slowly and pull out a blueish-gray dragon with a number one around its neck. I swallow hard, definitely losing the fight against my nervous stomach now. I have to go first. I have to face a dragon in less than five minutes. Merlin, help me.

I watch as harry pulls out a violent-looking dragon with a number four around its neck.

"Well, there you are!" bagman says. "You have each pulled out the dragon you will face, and the numbers refer to the order in which you are to take on the dragon, do you see? Now, I'm going to have to leave you in a moment, because I'm commentating. Mr. Diggory, you're first, just go out into the enclosure when you hear a whistle, all right? Now… harry… could I have a quick word? Outside?"

Harry agrees, but I don't ponder why Bagman wants a word with him. I go through my plan one more time in my head, pacing faster than before. My stomach tightens, and I feel even sicker. My face is starting to sweat as well as my palms, and I try to wipe it away.

A whistle blows, sounding far away and distant, but I know it's for me.

I push my way out of the tent, passing Harry on his way in.

My heart pounding somewhere in my throat, I walk on wobbly legs that threaten to buckle to the enclosure. Hundreds of faces stare down at me as I stand there, feeling small and vulnerable.

Then my eyes find my dragon- a Swedish Short-Snout, if I remember correctly. The dragon (definitely a female) has a clutch of eggs between her legs. She snorts out a warning burst of flame, and I step back, startled.

The sight of the dragon manages to remind me of what I'm supposed to do. I scan the ground, searching so a rock, and I find one, not too far away, roughly a similar size to a stone I practices on earlier.

Remembering the spell Amanda and I had worked on, I focus on transfiguring the rock, and can't help a small smile when I do the spell right. Inside, I feel like singing, I'm so happy.

The Lab darts around me in a circle, and then takes off, wanting me to chase it. I watch the dragon warily, willing the dragon to go for the dog.

I watch with amazement as the dragon tries to fry the dog with a bout of fire, but misses. Then, frustrated, the dragon takes a solitary step from her eggs, flapping her wings. I hear the crowd screaming; hear Bagman's voice, louder than them all, though I can't discern what he's saying. All my senses are too focused on getting past this dragon.

I run in the opposite direction of the dog, and try to get a good few of what the dog is doing. On the other side of the arena, the Lab is trying to play with the dragon, running in circles then darting off when it thought the dragon might chase him.

I creep closer, praying the dog with keep the Short-Snout at bay long enough to get the egg. I can see it, nestled among the other, less brilliant, eggs.

A gout of blue flame hits the ground rather close to the dog, and he runs off in my direction. Startled, I bolt for the egg, but I know I've crossed a line. The Short-Snout roars, furious, and rises into the air, flapping its wings and trying to burn me alive. I run, dive, and duck out of the way of the flames, begging the Lab to do _something_ to get the dragon away from me. But I imagine the dog to be cowering in a corner, terrified. I am the real threat, and the dragon realizes that now.

I get closer to the eggs, then have to dive out of the way of a wall of fire that descends on me, barely missing. I feel its scorching heat, mere inches from my face.

I raise my arm to protect my skin that I'm sure is already burned, and make a run for it. I reach the nest and scoop up the golden egg from the bunch with my free hand. I hear the dragon descending, and dive to roll out of her way, breaking my fall with my hand that had been protecting my burned skin only seconds before….

And then she's restrained and I hear the crowd screaming louder than ever. I pick myself off the ground, and take in the scene around me. Students in supportive garb line the stands. The judges look impressed.

"And now the scores!" I hear Bagman shout over the crowd.

I watch, numbly aware of the pain all over my body, as each judge shot a large silver ribbon into the sky. A seven from Madame Maxime. An eight from Crouch, then another from Dumbledore. Bagman, a nine. And finally, Karkaroff shoots six into the air.

I feel someone gently leading me away, and look down to find Professor Sprout smiling. "Well _done_, Cedric," she smiles warmly. "Off to Madame Pomfrey. You need that burn healed."

I reach up to brush my face, but she stops my hand. "Don't touch it. You'll be better off."

Sprout tugs at my robes and _tsk_s. "Your robes are absolutely ruined. You'll need new ones."

But I'm not worried about my robes or my burn (even though it hurts _really_ badly). I did it, I faced a dragon! My stomach feels better than it has in days. My knees still feel weak, but aside from that, I feel great. Relieved, mostly. But nonetheless fantastic.

Madame Pomfrey smears some orange paste on my face (while cursing under her breath about how horrible dragons are) when Sprout leaves me in a tent separate from the one the champions are waiting in. she inspects the other cuts and bruises that litter my arms and shoulders from my multiple tumbles and dives. She cleans my cuts with some purple liquid that burns, and then heals them with several pokes of her wand. Then she picks up my hand, the one I threw across my face and break my fall, and I yelp. Unexpected pain shoots through my arm. I hiss through my teeth and she taps it too with her wand, and then bandages my wrist and makes me drink several potions to help heal my injuries.

I lay back when she's done, listening to the end of Krum's battle with the dragon, then Fleur's in entirety, and finally Harry's. At bagman's shout of "great Scott, he can fly!" I find my eyes snapping open and myself sitting up, surprised. What the hell is Harry playing at?

Harry finishes the fastest out of all the champions. Harry comes into the tent after a few minutes; outside the crowd continues roaring in approval of whatever it was he had done. I watch through the canvas as Madame Pomfrey leads Harry to his own cubicle. I hear her tell him to take it easy before he can get his score. Then the nurse comes back into my cubicle.

"How's it feel now, Diggory?" she asks briskly.

I wave my bandaged arm. "This feels way better."

She Banishes the bandages with a wave of her wand and then proceeds to clean up my face. She _tsk_s again and rubs more paste onto my burn.

"All right Diggory. Wait just a moment longer and you may go."

I count to thirty in my head, and get up, feeling my legs wobble just slightly. Picking up my golden egg, I leave the tent. I see Krum and Fleur a few paces ahead of me. I walk just quickly enough to face into pace behind them.

We enter the champions' tent together. Harry is already in there, waiting.

I smile, my mind wandering back to my imagined scenarios of what he could've done. I see he has his broom in hand, and the ideas become even wilder. "Good one, Harry," I say.

"And you," Harry says, returning my smile.

"Well done, _all_ of you!" says Bagman as he bounces into the tent in a very Bagman fashion. "Now, just a quick few words. You've got a nice long break before the second task, which will take place at half past nine on the morning of February the twenty-fourth- but we're giving you something to think about in the meantime! If you look down at those golden eggs you're all holding, you will see that they open… see the hinges there? You need to solve the clue inside the egg- because it will tell you what the second task is, and enable you to prepare for it! All clear? Sure? Well, off you go, then!"

I leave the tent, and immediately find Gwen's, Amanda's and even Alex's and Tyler's arms around me, hugging and screaming and jumping up and down.

I wriggle my way out of their arms and look at their smiling faces.

Amanda hugs me again and whispers in my ear, "awesome job. That was amazing."

"They wouldn't let us come down and see you," Gwen pouts. "They said you were too badly injured." She rolls her eyes. "But I think you look fine. "

Alex pushes his way past the girls. "C'mon Ced! There' s a huge party in the works back in the common room!"

I follow my friends back to the common room, discussing the task animatedly. The golden egg feels heavy in my arms, but it'll have to wait a while. For the moment, the only thing I want to do is enjoy the party with my fellow Hufflepuffs.


End file.
